posted April 7, 2014

A student’s life isn’t as easy as adults see it. They say that studying is a lot easier than working and paying the ‘bills’.

What the ‘bills’ are, Ren doesn’t exactly know. He is a very hardworking student. He does homeworks and projects and reviews when there’s an upcoming exam. Even so, when the deadline for those projects and the day of the final exams fall on the same date, it will be hard for a hardworking student, too, but Ren doesn’t complain. He believes that it’s harder to be an adult than being an elementary student.

However, this time, he isn’t only studying for tomorrow’s Mathematics and Korean Language final exams. They have a major play in Music. Or is it okay to call it a musical? Their grade is doing ‘The Little Prince.’ Anyway, Ren is very nervous. Odd though, because he isn’t one of the casts. He is a props man. He is still very nervous though, because his antisocial friend is one of the casts.

And he isn’t a tree.

Nor is he a talking animal.

He is The Little Prince himself.

How JR became The Little Prince?

Even though Ren hates to admit it, JR is one of the most good-looking, okay, handsome student in their grade. So the teacher instantly picks him after informing the class about the play, or musical, and how it will be 50% of their grade.

“If I had known it will be like that, I wouldn’t have woken up before dawn to go to school! Where will they put the homeworks? How about the written exams! And practical exams! We have been told to sing a lot of times! The attendance! Ren! This is crazy! I won’t do that!” JR exclaimed when Ren congratulated him for getting one of the major roles.

“JR! It’s okay! Come on, they made it a musical so you wouldn’t need to memorize a lot of lines, and besides, they will help you record your songs so you wouldn’t need to memorize them, too! You’ll just act. Come on!” Ren reasoned out. He needed to persuade JR because he  was happy and proud that his friend was chosen.

“You don’t get it Ren! How will I act? And if my parents knew about this they will invite the entire neighborhood to watch! It’s so embarrassing! No, I won’t do this!”

“But JR! I’ll help you practice! I promise! Please agree! Please!” Ren said while doing aegyo because he would do anything to make JR agree.

JR sighed and buried his head in his hands because Ren’s aegyo’s one of his weaknesses and he didn’t have any choice. What if Ren cried? The puppy eyes surely’s one of the best method of convincing people, or convincing JR.

So JR agrees and he makes sure that Ren helps. He invites Ren to his house after school so that he can practice. Wren becomes the other characters, but JR always calls him my rose just to . But he isn’t only the rose, he is also the narrator, the fox, the snake, the baobabs, the King, he is everyone except the Little Prince. Even so, every time JR says his line, it always has “my rose” at the beginning, regardless of who he is currently talking with, and even though they aren’t practicing anymore, Ren is still the rose and he doesn’t want that, however, JR is the prince until the play because Ren needs to please him or every time he wants to punch JR the threat a.k.a I’m going to quit and it will be all your fault always rings inside his head.

Following JR’s demands soon become a burden because the final exams and the deadlines for their projects are approaching, too. Instead of doing his own business, he goes to JR and helps him with whatever and it pisses the hell out of Ren because ¾ of that whatever are nonsense things so one day, Ren walks out and returns home to do his projects instead. Luckily, or should he say strangely, JR has not followed him and he also doesn’t bother him in school the next day. Ren doesn’t mind it at first, thinking that JR finally figures out what to do. The next thing that happens doesn’t really what Ren has expected.

While walking in the hallway after the final class ended, Ren overhears some of his classmates talking about his friend. He hears JR’s name first, so he decides to eavesdrop to hear more.

“What is happening to him? He’s okay the first weeks of practicing, but lately he’s out of his mind.” Joo-Mi, also knows as the most talkative girl in their class, said.

“I know right! I mean, I have nothing to say about his looks, but he’s so slow! He doesn’t even know when to say his lines and he doesn’t have feelings! What if we tell teacher to let Jino act instead? He’s also handsome and he really likes to be the Little Prince. Jonghyun won’t mind anyway, he doesn’t want this since the beginning so—“

“What do you mean he doesn’t want? He knows his lines, he knows how to act, and come on, he has the voice! Why are you talking behind his back? That’s not right, you know?” Ren butts in, he really doesn’t like it when others are talking about JR, and he hates it when they say bad things. JR may be a little aloof but he is a good and funny friend, Ren knows that.

“And Minki-sshi, do you know that what you’ve done is also bad? As far as I remember I am only talking to Sora, and why are you so defensive?” Joo-Mi asks. “Jonghyun doesn’t really like the idea from the beginning and—“

“No! He likes it! Maybe he’s just not in the mood for now, but I tell you, he will be the most perfect Little Prince you’ll ever see in your entire life! Just wait!” Ren exclaims and he doesn’t wait for his classmates reply because he needs to find JR. He needs to know what’s wrong.

As usual, Ren finds his friend in the auditorium. The actors always have their practice after school so they are there together with the teachers. The props men do their work in their subject’s time and after school, but every class has their own schedule because they are too many to work there together. It’s just that that day isn’t Ren’s class day to work for the props.

He waits outside the auditorium so as not to disturb the practice. After 2 hours, the teachers call it a day and let everybody go home. JR is the first one to leave and as soon as Ren sees his friend, he grabs the shocked boy and scolds him as they walk home.

“What’s wrong with you, JR? I heard our classmates and they said that you’re not doing good. Did you forget your lines? What’s the problem?”

“I, I just don’t feel like doing this anymore, Ren, this drains my energy and I think I really can’t do it. What if I forget the lines and—“

“But you promised me you’d do it, JR! How about this, I’ll write your lines on a big paper and show it to you. I’ll sit in front and—“

“No, you don’t need to do that, Ren. It’s okay. It’s too late for me to quit anyway, I’ll just, don’t bother—“

“No, listen to me, JR. I convinced you to do this so we’ll be doing this together, okay? Let’s just, you just need to concentrate and stop asking me silly favors so we’ll do everything well. Okay?”

“You’re not angry? I thought you’re angry because you walked out all of a sudden. I just, I’m sorry Ren. I didn’t really want to do this that time, so I did childish things to irritate you. But then I realized that I already wasted a lot of time memorizing lines and recording songs and I also troubled you so I accepted this and I vowed to myself that I’d do this alone so I wouldn’t bother you anymore. I’m really sorry Ren.”

JR really never fails to surprise Ren. He does not even thinking about their little argument anymore, so he is really shocked that JR apologizes. He sees the sincerity in JR’s eyes and his voice has a lot of feelings in it so Ren smiles and holds JR’s wrists.

“I’m sorry, too, there’s just a lot of things to do and I don’t know what to do first so I’ve acted like that. We are both childish, and it’s okay, because we’re still children, you know!”

“So, we’re okay now?” JR hesitantly asks.

“Of course! Come on, when are we not okay? You know, they said that you have no feelings when you say your lines and I don’t believe them because every time we talk I can sense your emotions. Let’s prove them wrong JR!”

“Why are you so into this, Ren? Whether this play is successful or not, our grades are secured anyway.”

“Who says that I care about the grades? I am your manager so I need to make sure you’re okay! Come on! We still have a lot to practice!”

“Okay, my rose.”

A week before the play, Ren starts to do the visual aids. His penmanship isn’t the most beautiful, but JR can understand it and it’s what’s important. His mother helps him when she has time so it’s not that hard. Aside from practicing for the play, JR and Ren also start to review for their final exams. They’ve already had some and the projects are already submitted. Ren then wonders why he’s panicking in the first place.

Ren also notices the change in JR’s concentration as the D-day comes nearer. His friend isn’t fooling around anymore. He has everything memorized and the songs are beautifully recorded, he says. Ren still hasn’t listened to it yet because it’s a surprise, according to their teachers. They can actually watch the dialogue practice, but every time a song begins, their teachers skip it. Then the characters are required to stay for a longer time to continue practicing. Ren is curious, he really wants to hear it there and then, but JR says it’s not allowed. Even so, he believes that JR has his songs recorded well. Despite JR’s focusing, he does not forget to call Ren my rose every time.

A day before D-day, their teachers decide that they will not practice anymore, and since they’ve finished doing the props a three days ago, everyone is free to go home. While walking, JR says that his parents want to celebrate after the play, so they invite Ren and his parents and they have no choice but to agree or JR’s mother will be angry.

When Ren gets home, he runs to his bedroom to rest. However, before he fully sleeps, an intruder barges in and Ren doesn’t need to open his eyes to know who that is because he immediately speaks.

“Ren! Why aren’t you going to my house, I thought we’ll be practicing? Come on! I’m so nervous I can’t keep calm. What if I forget my lines?” JR cries, his voice is a little bit louder than the normal volume and Ren doesn’t know if he should push his friend out of his room or just ignore the poor thing.

He chooses to ignore him at first, but a whining JR is one of the most annoying things in the world and he won’t be able to go back to sleep if his friend continues so he sits up and tries to give his friend the deadliest glare he could give, but JR doesn’t stop so he decides that his death glare isn’t harmful.

“Look JR, you’ll be okay! We have the visual aids. And besides, you’ve practiced hard enough. I promise you, tomorrow will be like any other day. Acting will be like eating and playing PSP and breathing. Come on, let’s sleep. Call your Mom and tell her you’ll be eating dinner here.”

“But—“

“No buts, you should listen to me because I am your manager. Call your Mom and then join me here. Mom won’t let you go home without eating anyway. Let’s sleep first.”

JR does call his Mom and tells her everything that Ren has said. He has no choice anyway, and Ren believes that his friend can perfectly do his role so there’s no need to panic.

However, Ren does not trust JR when he tells him that he won’t practice anymore when he gets home. Ren still feels that JR is nervous, and his friend has the capability of staying up really late, so he worries that JR might force himself to practice until he can’t open his eyes anymore. And JR hates waking up early so he might oversleep. And if he oversleeps, he’ll be late for the play and everyone will be angry. As JR’s manager, Ren shouldn’t let that happen, so before JR walks out their house’s gate, he offers a sleepover.

And he’s glad that he has offered. Because JR can’t stop telling how nervous he is and he is so restless that Ren needed to play with his friend’s hair before he could fall asleep.

The morning of the D-day, both of them are woken up by Ren’s mother so that they can eat breakfast and prepare early because JR still needs to go home and get his stuffs and Ren’s mom asks his son to accompany his friend.

When they arrive at the auditorium, they see that the stage is set and JR is immediately taken away from Ren. JR gives him another pitiful look before letting the teacher drag him to the backstage. Ren then joins the others in preparing. They don’t need to set up a lot because their teachers have taken care of the stage so they just arrange the chairs.

After an hour, someone screams Ren’s name from the backstage. Ren knows who it is and of course, he doesn’t hesitate to rush to where the scream came from. What if something happens to JR? He won’t forgive his teachers! But as he arrives at the scene, he’s shocked to see a very handsome JR, complete with light make-up and costume, but his expression is the only odd thing in the picture.

“Why do you look like you’re about to cry?” Ren worriedly asks.

“How do I look? I look weird, right? Be honest! What if they laugh at me? My parents won’t stop teasing me until I grow up if I look funny and—“

“Stop it! You’re very good-looking! I swear, you’re at your most handsome state now!” Ren exclaims. He cannot understand why JR has a little amount of self-confidence when he should have a lot.

“Are you sure?”

“Trust me.”

They stand there for a while before the teacher announces that they’ll let the audience enter in the auditorium. Ren’s about to say that he’ll help but JR holds his hand and there he notices that JR is shaking and his hands are really cold.

“What if I mess up?” JR asks.

“No, you won’t. I’m the best manager and you’re the best Little Prince. We can do this! Hwaiting!” Ren exclaims, but he still sees the doubt in JR’s eyes, so he holds his friend’s hands and says, “Come on, let’s say hwaiting together! One, two, three!”

“Hwaiting!” Both of them cheer.

“I’ll be in front, I’ll be holding the visual aids and I’ll be silently cheering. I’m not just your manager, I’m your fan!” Ren reminds.

Ren immediately runs after he pushes JR towards their teacher. He goes to their parents and asks them to sit with him in front. The play starts after everyone goes inside. The moment JR enters the scene, their mother suddenly squeal and JR’s father gestures them to shut up because they’ll be heard in the video camera. The audience are very responsive, they laugh when the actors are being funny and they keep quiet when it’s a very serious scene.

Ren keeps an eye on his friend, though. The JR onstage is very different from the JR he’s talking to before the play has started. Ren thinks that JR looks very beautiful with his newfound confidence. Ren stops changing the visual aids in the middle of the play because JR isn’t even looking. He acts naturally, like he and the Little Prince are really just one person, except that JR isn’t talking only to Ren, but to everyone on stage.

And then there are the songs. JR’s voice is really unique, like he’s still talking while singing, but Ren means it in a good way. His singing has all the emotions, like when he’s talking and Ren can’t help but admire his friend more. Maybe their teachers feel the same that’s why they’ve decided to reveal it in the D-day itself. The other characters have beautiful voices, too, even more beautiful than his friend’s, but only JR can make the audience feel what he is feeling and it’s so wonderful. Even JR’s mother cries when the song about the Little Prince’s longing for his rose starts to play.

When the play ends, everyone gives the characters a standing ovation. It’s successful! And when the characters are introduced, the audience stands again and claps when it’s JR’s turn while Ren shouts “That’s my best friend!”

It takes a while before they’re able to exit the auditorium. A lot of people want to snap a picture together with the Little Prince, and even though JR doesn’t want to be photographed, he smiles at every picture taken. It must have been very tiring, Ren thought.

When they’re inside JR’s father’s car, JR’s mother can’t help but fangirl over her son.

“Did you see JR? I mean, woah, I didn’t expect that much, son, you’re really great! Do you want to be an actor when you grow up? It’s okay! I have a very handsome son and I’m willing to share that handsomeness with everyone. And you’re a great actor! Oh my God! I am so proud of you!”

“You’re very lucky to have her, Jinhyun! And you’re really great a while ago, Jonghyun-ah.” Ren’s mom compliments.

“It’s not that hard, isn’t it JR? You’re very handsome and your voice is very good and you act very well!” Ren says.

“Actually, it’s thanks to Ren, auntie. He helped me with everything.” JR says while looking at Ren’s mother. He then looks at Ren and asks, “What do you want to eat, Ren? Because it’s hard helping me, I’m letting you decide on what to eat.”

Ren is beyond surprised, it isn’t his parents that will be paying so what right does he have to choose? “No, it’s okay, I mean, I’m okay with everything. I eat everything! Right! I eat everything!”

“What? But you’re my manager! You should know what’s good to eat and what’s not!”

“Woah! You have a manager already? This is going to be great, Minji-ah! I’m sure JR will be fine when he becomes an actor because Minki’s his manager! Oh, we should think of a fanclub name as early as now because I can tell that JR’s going to be super famous!” JR’s mom exclaims.

Ren pokes JR and whispers “I’m okay with anything, really.”

“Okay then. I’m going to decide. Dad! Let’s go to a buffet restaurant so Ren can eat a lot!”

“It’s really hard paying the bills when you have a spoiled brat of a child.” JR’s father murmurs, oh well, Ren hears it anyway.

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Uhm, hi!

This is unbeta-ed so I'm sorry for the mistakes. I'll be very grateful if you help me find them. I'm to tired to read because it's already 4:40AM ;______;

nowplaying: Sunshine - Nell